Alijah Arenas to withdraw from NBA draft and return to play for the Trojans
USC guard Alijah Arenas dribbles up court against WIS on Jan 25 in Madison. The Trojans won 73-71. Arenas is planning to play for the Trojans next season.(Kayla Wolf / AP)
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USC star Alijah Arenas will withdraw his name from consideration in the 2026 NBA draft and will instead return to the Trojans in a major win for coach Eric Musselman.
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Arenas was initially expected to play only one season at USC before being drafted, but a harrowing Cybertruck crash delayed his USC debut last season.
Ryan Kartje (LA Times) — Alijah Arenas will withdraw his name from the NBA draft and return to USC for his sophomore season, according to a person familiar with the decision not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
The former five-star prospect, whose father is three-time All-NBA star Gilbert Arenas, was expected to spend just a single season at USC before declaring for the draft. But nothing went as planned during Arenas’ freshman season.
Arenas was involved in a single-car accident in April 2025 and hospitalized for six days after a Tesla Cybertruck he was driving hit a tree and burst into flames. The week that he returned to practice after the accident, Arenas learned he needed knee surgery. He didn’t debut for the Trojans until late January, missing the first 18 games. And when he finally made it into the lineup, Arenas was thrown into a starring role in the middle of a brutal Big Ten slate and struggled to adjust.
Still, there were glimpses of the player that Compton Magic AAU founder Etop Udo-Ema told The Times had the potential to one day “be the face of the NBA.” Over one stretch in early February, Arenas had 29 points in a win over Indiana, scored 24 and hit a winning shot at Penn State and put up 25 points at Ohio State.
“Just the things he can do, the IQ he has, what he can see, the way that he moves, the length, the size (6-6, 200),” Udo-Ema said, “he’s the most talented guy I’ve ever seen.”
But Arenas told The Times in late February that he was unhappy with the results of his freshman season to that point.
“I know what I’m capable of. And I’m not there yet,” Arenas said. “Simple as that.” Arenas averaged 14.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 2.3 turnovers per game while shooting 34.1% from the field, 21.3% from 3-point range and 79.2% from the free throw line.
Arenas had submitted his name as an early entrant in the NBA draft, the deadline for which was Monday. But ultimately, he opted to return to USC as a sophomore, in hopes of starting anew.
The Trojans’ standout clearly still needs to become more consistent and improve his efficiency.
For that reason, Arenas electing to play another year of college basketball is likely the best choice for his NBA Draft placement. As a sophomore, the skilled scorer will have had an entire offseason to work on his game and prepare for the upcoming campaign.
If Arenas builds on an encouraging freshman season next year, he could be a high-end draft pick in the 2027 class, one that appears to be less talented than the 2026 cycle.
Arenas returns to a roster that should be even more talented in the 2026-27 season. Guard Rodney Rice and forward Jacob Cofie also announced earlier this month that they would return, while three top-25 prospects (forwards) are set to join the roster this summer (Christian Collins — a top-10 national recruit — and twins Adonis and Darius Ratliff).
USC also already added a trio of players in the portal, including a 7-footer in Connecticut’s Eric Reibe and an experienced starter in Georgetown’s shooting guard KJ Lewis.
latimes.com
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USC (38-12, four straight wins) beat CSF (21-26) at Dedeaux tonight 13-4.
Getting into the playoffs is theirs to lose. They’re ahead of Michigan and Purdue but they have 3 games against Oregon and they need to win at least one of those games……maybe two
SC is hard to beat at Dedeaux
I love Stanky. We’ll win way over 40 games this year.
While were not good enough yet to beat the very best and win a World Series, it’s great to see 12-time national champ USC well-ranked (#16) and competing at an extremely high level again.
I may be mistaken, but I don’t think USC has won over 40 games since the Mike Gillespie era (’87 – 06).
#16 in Coaches poll, #18 D1 Baseball, #19 Baseball America. Either way, continue the streak and get 44 wins and a great seed. 41-22 in ’05 with Gillespie.
To get 44 wins they will need to beat Oregon 3 times. That’s not going to be easy.
And the games are in Eugene.
I figure USC beats 35-12 ORE once in Eugene.
sounds reasonable
A 3 game series with unranked Nevada this weekend. Then the final series with Oregon next weekend. #13 Oregon (3rd place in the BIG) versus #18 Trojans (4th in the BIG) in Eugene will be huge for playoff seedings for both teams. Too bad it’s not at Dedeaux.
Ross Delenger — The coaches have spoken: In a vote last week, the AFCA Board swung its support behind (1) a playoff with the max participants (likely 24); (2) discontinuing conference championships; and (3) ending CFP by second week of January, they tell Yahoo Sports.
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My, how things have changed …
The new criteria for judging a football program. If you haven’t made at least the bottom tier as a Power 4 school, you are nothing. The Group of 6 in the bottom tier are just a nice gesture to give everybody hope. Will a Group of 6 ever get a win or even make it back more than once?
This new criteria makes it even rougher for formerly elite programs like USC that have completely dropped off the ledge in the present day on the field.
Is being a has-been better than being a never-was in college football? Maybe not in today’s world of CFB, and for sure not if you land Curt Cignetti as your coach.
USC I would classify as a has-been with a chance to be relevant again. Other has-beens, like Nebraska, that will likely never be relevant again.
I disagree totally about NEB. If they had a coach like Cignetti, they’d be back and hugely relevant quicker than you could say Cornhusker. I bet even UCLA under Bob Chesney makes the playoffs in the next three years after literally playing .500 ball for the last 25 seasons. It’s all about the head coach. History has proven that thousands of times. Just look at USC ever since Pete Carroll left. OLE MISS was crap for years and years. Lane Kiffin miraculously led them to 55-19 overall through six years, and fully exasperated LSU, a failure under Brian Kelly, is… Read more »
In this day…due to the band wagon, everybody thinks they can go to the drug store and order up a Cignetti. Which brand Cignetti will you have? I agree with your view, Nebraska is going nowhere short of a miracle. To think they might hire a Cignetti is possible….about as likely as Mount St Helens blowing its top…..it happens……once in a blue moon. Any top notch coach is not going to Nebraska. Review the championships for the past 50 years…..do we see a program that is a complete surprise…..maybe Auburn…..maybe. The rest are all the bruisers except for Indiana. Why….because… Read more »
I don’t know where you got the idea that “everybody thinks they can go to the drug store and order up a Cignetti. Which brand Cignetti will you have?” No way. I sure as heck don’t believe that for a second. Very few guys are special like that — and available. They don’t make ’em very often and not many schools in the future will ever come even close to getting that lucky again in such a short time. It may never happen again for all we know. If USC settles for just getting a “competent coach who works very… Read more »
My comments were not targeted at you…they were a response to Golden. However you stated that if Nebraska would just hire a Cignetti they are back….just like that……..the chance of that is Mount Saint Helens…..who wants to coach there? So I guess you are agreeing that Golden was correct. Nebraska is a has been…. short of a miracle hire. As for the rest….not what I was addressing. When we hired Carroll he was not considered elite by most. McKay did not have head coaching experience. He was considered an upcoming assistant. Robinson was established. I am saying that when we… Read more »
I never thought your comments were targeted at me, and if they were, that’s fine too. We just disagree about programs like NEB. With the right coach, I think they’ll be back, regardless of their location, especially because of their uber loyal and elite fan base, among other factors you’d probably disagree with me about. I don’t care at all what USC’s best coaches were thought of before they came to USC. What matters is what they did at SC, and that’s it. Coaching is a lot about fit. L.A. isn’t for everyone, regardless of what they have done before,… Read more »
You’re right….IMO Nebraska is a has been. You stated USC should not settle for a competent coach…..I was trying to say that competence plus is hard to determine at the time of hire. It’s competence we need and lack. At USC, the machine will do a lot of the rest. I brought up Helton to explain competence. He won plenty of games…but was he competent. We both don’t think so. I did not say you think we need a Cignetti. A humdrum space filler could be a coach that has no chance of getting anywhere but wins enough to satisfy… Read more »
😂 😂 Please let us know how Cignetti’s appearance goes. I’d like your impression.
And if you get the opportunity to shake his hand, well, just give him a quick thumb’s up instead and tell him to Fight On!
I bet he packs ’em in. instant hero’s are hard to come by. And now he’s got to live up to it with a boatload of money for people to be jealous of and see how he handles being the target every week.
Funny how winning changes everything…..It is sold out…..last year they would not have bothered. It’s being held in Carmel IN…..which is a higher end suburb of Indy at a facility that holds 1500 or so. Bet his beer brand is there. and you’re right……everybody is looking forward to their Indiana date……I suspect even the USC at Indiana game is going to attract some LA dudes. My creaky back, knees and wobbly balance don’t do so well in older stadiums…..Indiana’s stadium is very steep (as a lot of the older stuff is) and in some areas does not have rails…..they are… Read more »
Stewart Mandel (The Athletic) recently named TEXAS, CLEM and USC as the most underperforming big programs in the country.
Yet both CLEM and TEXAS figure prominently on this graphic.
Clemson could soon drift into has-been status. I could see a variation of the above graphic, “CFB Playoff Achievement Tiers, In The Last 10-15 years”, as the definition of elite CFB program.
Question to The Athletic — Is Texas the most underperforming big program? They’ve had 29 draft picks over the last three years with two semifinal appearances (good but not what they are playing for) and then a missed Playoff? Stewart Mandel — Man, you guys have some really, really high bars if everyone who doesn’t win a national title is a failure. No, Texas would not be my answer. Reaching back-to-back semifinals, both of which the Horns took to the wire, is not a bad thing. No question, going 10-3 and playing in the Citrus Bowl with a good amount… Read more »
Sark is a good OC but not a great HC
Another Saban rehab project. Saban was a master at hiding flaws.
Yes USC athletics got and gets quite a raise and yes it could effectuate a buyout, hopefully putting us on the right track. Of course it’s not gonna happen this season. The nearly full consensus is 2026 is the make or break season. Sure, we have assembled a coaching and administrative circle around LR, with a great AD and GM, formidable assistant coaches, and a well known DC returning to the hot seat. What’s LR’s new, unrealized, never seen before contribution to the program’s growth? Is he suddenly a big advocate of having top cfb defense? Or words? Is he… Read more »
What Indiana Coach Curt Cignetti has done in 2- years with a program in much worse shape than what Riley came into and ravaged with portal 2nd hand players his first two years and ignored recruiting California talent. He needs to be reminded how he screwed up and showed he isn’t a great coach and keep throwing the name Cignetti at him.
Cignetti did throw a wrench in LR’s typical excuse machine. LR’s background and belief system couldn’t be more different than Cignettis.
It is kind of easy to see Cignetti as an indictment of not just LR’s approach but a lot of big-time HCs. I am sure there are fan bases grumbling across the country muttering his name. But the fact is, Cignetti’s Indiana run last year has all the makings of an aberration – the jury is out on sustainability of what he is doing. I’m not saying there is anything “gimmicky” in what he has done. But I am saying, it is one team, one moment in time. Without a doubt he is a good, smart coach. But the paint… Read more »
Stated so well.
I would only slightly quibble with this one statement: “I am going to need more time with him as a Power-4 head coach before I am going to suggest his model to programs everywhere.” The truth, at least as I see it, is that Cignetti’s model doesn’t have to work for programs everywhere. It only has to work at IU, as it did fabulously. And it clearly does fit perfect there. A lot of things are about “fit.” Maybe Cignetti wouldn’t fit so well at MIA, the school he just beat for the NC. I don’t think he cares. MIA might… Read more »
Actually, yes, I am (predicting a Bloomington win)! We will have a vast advantage at the most important position, from an experience standpoint. In predicting that, I am assuming the hype I am hearing about changes in practice and culture have at least something behind them. I don’t think you and I disagree on anything. You seem to agree that Cignetti’s approach works at IU, now, and that it may not necessarily be the right flavor at other schools. I guess the only difference is, I am already seeing the prospect for Cignetti to stay the same, but for his… Read more »
I’d probably vote for USC to win in Bloomington too, but I’ve just been burned by USC football too many times over the last 10 years. I’d love to think USC is truly ready to win big on the road when it matters against a well-coached, talented team. But last year we lost every single one of those important games on the road. I think I’ve been scarred! 😂 I’m still waiting for “winning time” to return to USC on the field, instead of in print. 😂
I’m feeling those scars as well. Before I would predict a win in Bloomington, baby steps. Let’s get across country to Rutgers 3-0. Let’s take care of Oregon and be 5-0. That’s when we will know what we’ve got in LR and the team for ’26. I think there is a good chance USC does upset at least one of the 4 toughest games. I just LR doesn’t blow it when favored.
True. USC has to FINALLY shove the Ducks’ nose in the dirt.
We can’t keep just putting them down for their ever-changing Nike uniforms and Phil Knight moola ($$$) when they’re always whipping our asses on the field.
Sadly, I’m a Dan Lanning fan as you know.
We will have an athletic advantage over Hoosier portal players but what about the coaching? We know Cignetti coaches his players in a system that tells them what to do and when, and they do it. At least they have these past two years. Will our players follow a game plan that works where the Miami’s, Alabama’s, Oregon’s & Ohio st’s haven’t been up to the challenge? And specifically Riley’s game management against Cignetti could be a no brainer. Cignett’s likely to take Riley to school here where it puts all the pressure on our defense when Riley’s playcalling loses… Read more »
If I were a coach playing USC, I’d gun for the QB every play.
Just a simple-minded thought that suddenly popped into my mind when I read your post Jam. Of course, I’m no coach.
With a little luck, I can score some IU – USC tickets. I went to the Purdue game last year, easy drive from my brother’s house in Indy. I know one thing, the tickets will much more expensive and harder to come by for IU than they would have been BC (Before Cignetti).
Hah. Good call on the BC label.
It’s so true. Before and after in terms of Hoosier football will always, forever more, be defined by Curt Cignetti.
It’s the most amazing immediate turnaround I’ve ever seen in the history of sport. Exaggeration intended!
Indeed, every team is a new year, even if you have the same players and staff. “Last year, is last year. It’s a new year now.”
Every football coach has lectured his team to start out every season with this always dependable bromide.
Hopefully, it swings in favor of USC and against IU this year, though for history’s sake, I’d still like to see Cignetti kick butt again — just not against our Trojans. What he did still amazes me. I mean, they were the always lowly freakin’ Hoosiers after all!
What a disaster…..the BIG conference is distributing 1.37 Billion to members for fiscal year end 6/30/25. USC banks 76 to 80 million as its share. Since USC received 34 million or so in their last year with PAC 12…..only a 45 million increase!
and we can’t afford a new head coach???
Patience!!!! With Cohen and Bowden in there, LR will have to put up or shut up in the next few years.
We’ve already all been very patient watching LR learn on USC’s dime how to actually coach a big-time team, with poor results.
You say he has to “put up or shut up in the next few years.”
I thought he was supposed to finally win in 2026 and get USC to the playoffs. But if he really has a few more years to get up to speed, he’s got it made in the shade. 😎 ✌
Maybe he will win in 2026. It’s not beyond my imagination. He certainly has made his mistakes with Grinch and his no-defense philosophy but hopefully he has learned and is evolving slowly but it better not be too slow because Cohen and Bowden won’t wait forever. The goal is a NC, not a 10-2 season. If they don’t see that in the forseeable future, it’s Adios Amigo.We can always get rid of LR. The people we must hang onto are Cohen and Bowden. Hopefully they don’t see SC as a stepping stone.
Well…..LOL……USC is an academic institution……maybe instead of running a football program we should start being honest……let’s start a school for head football coaches. Fit it in between a Physical Education degree and Physics degree. A BS (we know what that means) in football. Why would anyone come. We offer multi million dollar salaries….we actually pay our students. No pressure environment, its pretty much pass fail….and our standards are that just about everyone passes…..until you become one of the richest men in America……then you have to graduate. If you have doubts we have a long list of referrals……Clay has agreed to… Read more »
Awesome…..A Bachelors in HFCA(head football coaching administration) with DEI and grade inflation and ‘once a trojan always a trojan’ referrals. Well, believe it or not, it’s on the drawing board. We’re just waiting for the democrats to take over everything.
It’s all relative, in 2024 USC’s athletic department revenue was $242 million, the $45 million increase would take it to $287 million. SDSU, on the other hand, was $90 million in revenue for 2025 with a Mountain West distribution of $6 million.
The program is in good hands whatever you think of LR. Even with LR as HC, with Cohen and Bowden, explosive things are happening more and more everyday. Maybe LR will develope into a great coach. If he doesn’t, those two type A personalities will get rid of him. By that time this program will be locked, stocked and two smoking barrels. They’ll be a zillion great coaches wanting to head this program. And Cohen and Bowden won’t make the same mistake twice.
Beach Volleyball
All second-round matches Saturday will air on ESPN2, as will the semifinals later that day at 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The championship match is Sunday at 9:30 a.m. on ESPN.
NCAA Beach Volleyball Championships Second Round
7 a.m.: No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 Cal
8 a.m.: No. 4 USC (slight fave) vs. No. 5 Florida State
9 a.m.: No. 2 Texas vs. No. 7 Loyola Marymount
10 a.m.: No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 6 Cal Poly
Update — FSU swept USC 3-0
USC had more former players (four) taken in the Draft than were drafted out of USC (three). Romello Height (49ers, 3rd round) DL Height played CFB for four different schools, including a stint at USC in 2022 and 2023 before putting together an impressive 2025 season at TT. Zach Branch (Falcons, 3rd round) Branch played WR for the Trojans for two years, then high-tailed it to GA. Emmanuel Pregnon (Jaguars, 3rd round) Pregnon spent three years at WYO, before transferring to USC in 2023 and starting two years on the OL for the Trojans, then transferring to ORE. Domani Jackson (Packers,… Read more »
Interesting discussion on Riley’s win / loss that keeps him at USC. As already mentioned it’s going to be based upon balance owed, not performance (awful but true). What’s interesting is with one of the toughest schedules in the nation, we could end up with an awful record, which brings with it short and long term damage to the program ( top players transfer out, recruiting difficulties ( while UCLA goes in the opposite direction), donations and attendance reductions,etc. Conversely, should we surprise the world with a win or two against the top teams in CFB, and win the ones… Read more »
If any other program would ever come forward and suddenly beg USC to take Riley off our hands, that would be a gift from God. Like you, I think that’s only material for dreams, but it’s the connections between people that rule the world. All it takes is one AD who loves the guy for whatever reason. This upcoming 2026 season should be fantastic to behold. As usual with USC ever since Pete Carroll left, we don’t have the faintest idea of how 2026 will turn out outside of hopes and dreams. I bet most of the USC fans are… Read more »
OK, assuming Riley is on the hot seat in 26, which I am not convinced of, what record does USC need to get him another year? What record for multiple years?
If he goes 7-5 is he done?
Unfortunately current USC athletic department finances probably protect LR until his 8th year, his W-L 2026 record notwithstanding. LR could win the B-10 in 2026 but by year eight, he’s out! No way will he get a new or renegotiated contract. Yeah, it really sucks.
Christian McCaffrey on Sam Darnold …
“This guy’s a dude. “This is one of the best players I’ve been around. Period.”
For those not worried about UCLA now, it looks like Bob Chesney can recruit. The Bruins haven’t been used to succeeding on the recruiting trail like this in a long time. UCLA beats TEXAS, MICH in recruitment war for top 10 talent Lorenzo Reyna (ClutchPoints) — UCLA football immediately has grown aggressive on the College Football Recruiting trail under Bob Chesney. The new HC already beat MICH for Oklahoma LB Cain Brackney. Chesney and the Bruins defeated the Wolverines again Thursday, but also claimed a top 10 talent over TEXAS too. Four-star George Toia accepted UCLA’s offer, handing Chesney the nation’s… Read more »
I hate to admit it, but Chesney was great hire. I expect ucla to easily win about 8 games this season, and they will give SC all they can handle. My hope is that after pulling ucla out of the sewer and making them formidable, that a blue blood offers him the job, and he leaves westwood. And I hope nobody comments that they are rooting for ucla to be great so we can beat them when they are top 10 and undefeated. If they are that good, they will beat USC a lot. I never root for ucla, period.… Read more »
Only when its administration seriously shows a steady number of years in building its football infrastructure will its football program become a consistent competitor. It’s always good for So Cal to show there are two highly competitive football teams drawing attention to LA. But it’s been how long since that happened. Their struggling AD is putting his job on the line Chesny is another Cignetti that pulls rabbits out of a hat. Will he ever see his bosses put the kind of support into his program Indiana has now done for Cignetti? My hunch is do pigs fly? So PN4SC… Read more »
But if USC loses to Oregon and UCLA, it’s Vaya Con Dios to LR.
But the truth is, LR has USC in such a financial stranglehold, I’m not even sure of that.
None of us really actually know what his hilariously over-inflated buy-out would be at this stage. It used to be $80-90 mil. If any TDBers have any solidly researched numbers on what it is now, I’d sure like to know. AI has gotten me nowhere on this.
It’s not like any other schools even want LR at this point. Some would say he’s the most expensive coach in America when you measure his USC performance vs his bank account/buyout.
Riley has 5 years left on his contract (after this year) and his estimated salary from most sources is 11.5 million per year so $57,500,000.00.
Would other schools pick him up, I would imagine some would because they could get him for cheap since USC will be paying the bulk of his salary for 5 years.
If you were an AD anywhere, would you actually bring aboard a coach “on the cheap” as you say whose reputation has been severely degraded and would quite possibly set your program back again another several years? I’d much rather take UCLA’s approach and pay a decent salary to a rebuilder coach who wins wherever he goes, like IU did with Cignetti.
He could take his generational wealth and retire from football. He and his family could move on to whatever they want to. There is always NFL OC or HC at a Group of 6 program somewhere if he wanted to still coach. I don’t see an elite program wanting him.
I think that he could get a job as an offensive coordinator almost anywhere. I think that any team in the PAC10 would take him. I also think that most schools in the bottom half of the Big 12, ACC, SEC would take him. I don’t think any of the schools wanting to compete for a National Championship would take him right now. In 10 years; who knows.
I don’t know any coaches who would like to be relegated from a big-time HC to a mere OC. Except Chip Kelly. 😂
If you were a bottom half school, why would you want a guy on the downslope who couldn’t win at a school with more resources and recruiting clout than you could ever give him and had a huge rep for losing the most important games, and pissing off the fan base? That would be exactly the coach I would never hire.
Thanks to Chad Bowden, USC’s #3 overall 2027 recruiting class is back in business in California —
If we keep recruiting as we are…….who are these people claiming we should not expect great results in 27. 😋
A Quick Look at USC’s D: Experience, Emphasis on Homegrowns R.J. Abeytia (USCFootball.com) — Last season Indiana had three starters with more than 30 games experience and eight starters with at least 20 games played as collegians — and Indiana’s entire starting defense in the NC game had 268 games played before the 2025 season started. Miami actually came into the game with more experience than Indiana in terms of total games played. The Hurricane starters in the title game had 291 career games played when the 2025 season started. Using a potential starting group of DBs Marcelles Williams, Chasen Johnson, Christian… Read more »
“Portal” has been verbed. Love it.
Trojans ranked #2 in the nation behind The Furd. Now go get USC another Natty! Who’s making up these regionals? USC #2 in the nation has to play their regional at Michigan (who didn’t qualify to play)! Only Furd gets to host their regional.
Here’s your answer: The goal of the selection committee is to create six balanced 12-team regions, often placing top teams at various sites. STAN was selected as one of the six predetermined sites for the 2026 Regional Championships. The six 2026 NCAA Regional locations were Ann Arbor (MICH), Chapel Hill (UNC), Louisville (UK), STAN, Tallahassee (FSU), and Waco (BAY). The STAN Regional is heavily considered the toughest field. The Ann Arbor field is seen as having more of a drop-off after its top two seeds, USC and DUKE. The STAN Regional provides no “easy” spots in the rotation. USC and… Read more »
Around this time of year, I start thinking about returning experience for our Trojans versus other FBS teams. I am not sure if it is totally accurate, but I am lazy, and ChatGPT tells me that our Trojans currently have the most returning starters of all FBS teams — 9 on offense and 6 on defense. We are also likely to have the most returning production going into the season, but that could change as we jockey with teams like Georgia, ND, Oregon, and the OTHER USC. That, combined with a recruiting class that is likely to produce some early… Read more »
Amen……we went thru years of Helton hardly taking an OL recruit, then Riley shows up and takes a few guys that were average and screws them around…..for the first time in many moons we go into this season with an OL that will have experience, is of a somewhat higher level, has some top notch youngsters hoping for a spot and an OL coach that knows what he is doing. As for Riley……too many screw ups for me……I started criticizing him nearly 4 years ago and nothing he has done has given me any hope that he has improved. Since… Read more »
Crazy how Cignetti came out of nowhere to rise to the top of this list. The other 9 have risen incrementally over time and been known to various degrees the past decade. But Cignetti? 2 years ago, a look into the future at this list would have evoked a, “Curt who?!” reaction along with, “Indiana?! Are you kidding me?! That has to be a misprint!”
And 5 years ago would we have predicted Riley would be the least successful of the group by now?
Paul Finebaum, that’s who. 😉
Even a stopped clock is…..😎✌
Sources, Sources, Sources … What I’d like to know is who were Paul Finebaum’s college football sources who started feeding him negative Riley info. Reporters and successful media types don’t just come up with their opinions off the top of their heads in thin air. They’re talking to people they consider to be in-the-know insiders, otherwise they wouldn’t risk making themselves look like fools since they value their credibility. Without it, nobody listens to or employs them, and like it or not, Finebaum has a huge audience. Maybe he was talking to Brent Venables, who was highly critical of the… Read more »
Allen- I am calling BS on Venables. On Nov, 18th, 2021, about 10 days before Lincoln bolted for L.A., the Oklahoma University web page issued a press release, announcing that 31 Sooner football players had made the BIG 12 All Academic team, and this was a school record. He makes it sound like the culture at OU was badly broken, and in need of a complete overall. That team went 11-2!Meanwhile at USC, the culture was broken by Gomer and assoc. and the Trojans went 4-8. Venables is looking for any excuse for his first 3 years, but Riley easily… Read more »
Not only did OU not win the Big 12 Championship in 2021, the Sooners failed to even qualify for the conference title game that year which instead featured BAY and OKS, both of whom beat OU. BAY easily handled the Sooners 27-14. So OU didn’t have a bad overall record at 11-2 as you point out, but they weren’t headed up, that’s for sure. Riley accepted the USC job on Nov 28, 2021, less than 24 hours after OU lost to OKS. I think he was glad to be running away — and into such a huge pile of money… Read more »
Riley’s last team wasn’t one of his best, but I fail to see his point that everything was broken. They still won 11 games. Yes, Caleb Williams left, but OU replaced him Dillon Gabriel, who was pretty damn good. And he is flat out lying about the academics. Agree completely about the highest paid coaches. They only one I would pick Riley over is Sark.
Paul Finebaum originally thought the Lincoln Riley hire was a good hire. He said on the Tim May Podcast in December of 2021, “As far as Lincoln Riley, I think it was a good move”.
That’s what most people thought, me for sure. But after watching Riley coach USC, Finebaum changed his tune, again like most of us. Hey, I’m not a big Finebaum fan. The Mouth of the South seems to fit, though I think it’s his ears that really stand out by far. Maybe Finebaum will come around in favor of LR again if he gets USC into the playoffs with only two losses. Everybody always loves a winner. If Riley becomes a winner again, and finally stops getting beat down by all the good teams, USC fans will quickly flock to him… Read more »
He’s got to win the Oregon game. If they come in here and beat us again in our own house it’s going to be tough to win the confidence of the fans that he has already lost.
Cignetti immediately changed the world of CFB more in two years than any other coach has in 50. No such thing as “baby steps” in Cignetti’s world.
What Cignetti somehow did with the nation’s worst program in such a short time defies conventional explanation. So we all suddenly think more unconventionally now about CFB, at least in terms of what’s possible, I do believe. Where this all goes with programs everywhere will be so exciting to see.
We have read over the past two years of how detailed & precise Cignetti is in scouting players. How he leans heavily on player experience in what he sees in game tape. To say he knows more about the type of player he wants playing his system is an understatement. And how he determines the players he recruits will be successful in his system & coaching. He has proven it! Why can’t other coaches do this as well? We call Lincoln Riley a master QB developer and offensive genius? Maybe in the Big 12 where few other teams had budgets… Read more »
Sark isn’t worth $11million.
He should give at least a couple mil to Saban, don’t you think?
USC’s looking like a better bet now … Caden Handwork (SI.com) — Alijah Arenas’ return to USC is massive, especially for a Trojans backcourt that struggled with depth and injuries last season. One of those guards who was injured was Rodney Rice, who, after six games, suffered a season-ending right shoulder injury in the Trojans’ 83-81 win over the Seton Hall Pirates in the Maui Invitational Semifinal last November. Before suffering his season-ending right shoulder injury, Rice was one of USC’s top scorers. In the six games he played for the Trojans, Rice averaged 20.3 points, 6.0 assists, and 3.3… Read more »
As a long suffering USC basketball fan, I keep hoping this team will not be cursed, like so many others. The current 9 man roster looks impressive. A lot of way too early top 25 feature USC prominently. I am now just waiting for the bad news to reappear. I do believe in coach Muss, but this team must deliver